Darren Watts

Re: APG II Commentary/Discussion thread Hey guys! APG2 is going to the printer this week. Sorry, hiding questions for management inside a thread sometimes results in slow answering, since I don't have time to read every thread on the board... dw

Re: Champions Villains Volume Three: Solo Villains when will it be on the shelf? Hey guys! I apologize again for any perception that we're somehow hiding things from you. Villains 3 is a big, complicated, *expensive* book to make, and so was Star. Hero is a small company struggling to make it through difficult economic times just like everybody else, and we only have the resources to get a book like that printed every so often. We picked Star first, and we're sorry if that decision upset anybody individually, but as somebody above pointed out, we have to make these decisions in part based on expected sales and we believed (and still believe) that Star was the "bigger" book. There's no further mystery to plumb here, gang- Villains 3 will be out as soon as we can manage it. dw

Re: The (possible) dearth of habitable terrestrial worlds explained! Roulette wheels are way better made and maintained today then they were even in the 90s, let alone the 70s. However, if you find a casino with an old one (highly unlikely in the US, but in places like the Caribbean), go to town! dw

Re: Champions Villains Volume Three: Solo Villains when will it be on the shelf? Hero only has the resources to print so many books at a time, and the unfortunate delay caused several to crash into each other on the schedule. We decided that getting Star Hero, the big core release, out at Gencon was top priority, and that meant some other titles had to be shifted around on the calendar and in a couple of cases bumped to the other side of Gencon. With Star shipped and Beyond now on the road, the next two titles we're working on getting out are Villains 3 and the second Advanced Players Guide. I don't have dates for them yet, but we're talking weeks, probably not months. dw

Re: Hero Games needs a new printer Beyond has just *left* the printer. I don't think it's physically in the warehouse yet, but we've confirmed it's on the road. dw

Re: Hero Games needs a new printer Equipment Guide came and went pretty quickly (the initial order was small and rushed) and a new reprint is coming. Villains 3 got bounced to the far side of Gencon because Star Hero needed to come out there and Gencon's date wasn't moving no matter how we begged. In the meantime, Star and Beyond have both made it out. We're fixing the backlog situation as quickly as we can, guys. We're a small company who just got through an insanely busy summer. dw

Yup, we're doing this silliness again to help promote the Ennies! The winner will come to the pre-show party with the Hero gang, sit and drink with us during the ceremony, probably get to go up on stage with us if we should win anything, *and* get an autographed copy of Star Hero. Bidding info is here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180691687012 Hope to see you there! dw

Re: Golden Age Champions Golden Age heroic defaults tend to be more "Won't Exactly Exert Themselves To Stop A Villain From Stupidly Killing Themselves." Batman's first appearance has him ducking a maniacal charge by a bad guy who then accidentally plunges into a vat of acid. Batman sort of laconically adds, "A fitting end for his kind" and walks off rather than, say, trying to rescue or help him. And don't get me started on how Captain Marvel treats his enemies in the movie serial. dw

Re: Voytek, the Nazi-fighting, ammo-carrying, alcoholic bear My GA players just met him a couple of weeks ago at Monte Cassino. dw

Re: Local game store and distro Well, hang on. If they're only saying they can't get the core character book, that's not a mistake- we're almost out and we're angling for a reprint of it right now. That's different from saying they "can't get Hero from distribution." In the meantime while waiting for the reprints, have you suggested they carry the Hero System Basic Edition and use that as the basis of your demos? dw

Hey guys! This week's Canon Puncture features Joel Rojas doing a fine job as a "Game Advocate" for the Hero System, as interviewed by the ineffable Rich Rogers. Go check it out! dw http://www.canonpuncture.com

Re: Atari unloading Cryptic Studios Have no fear, Cryptic owes us nothing but the odd bits of free art they occasionally generate. DOJ is in no danger here. We still have many friends over there, though, and certainly hope everything works out well for them. dw

Re: Hero Games needs a new printer Hey guys! Believe me, we share your frustration, and are working very hard on end runs around the problem right now. dw

Re: NYC Playtesters?

Hey guys! Real Life has once again thrown my regular Tuesday night GA game into disarray, so I'm looking for 1-2 more players who can make it into Manhattan on a regular (!) basis to come join our long-term Golden Age game. Drop me a line if you're interested! dw

Re: RIP Dwayne McDuffie Dwayne and I were guests together at a Trinity Con a few years back in Detroit, a show filled with charming fail - at one point, the kids who were putting it on (and they were definitely *kids*) were reduced to bringing us guests home to their parents' houses to feed us, which actually turned out to be one of the most fun dinners I ever had at a con. Dwayne was unfailingly friendly, charming, utterly professional and full of kindness and good humor. Hell of a guy. dw

Re: Super Heroic Behavior The old Marvel Super Heroes rpg had a system similar to what you suggest. There, characters who wound up with negative "Fame" (or whatever it was called there, since I don't have my copy here), would be treated badly by the press or the public, rather than having a specific power change. There are still plenty of copies of that old chestnut floating around- if you can find one, give that section a read and see if it does what you're looking for. dw

Hey all! Well, it's been almost a year and a half since we released 6th Edition, to much acclaim and gratifyingly strong sales in a tough economic market. Part of our mandate with 6th Ed was not to invalidate all the work we'd done in 5th Edition- we wanted all of our excellent products to remain useful and relevant going forward, as we certainly weren't going to go back and reprint all of it. Personally, I think we did a great job. That being said, time marches on, and 6th has grown into a pretty strong line of its own. So, we've decided to both thank Herodom Assembled for its support and remind all of you of the really good work we did over the previous eight years, by cutting the prices on all 5th Edition products in half. That's right, everything for 5th Edition, soup to nuts, is now half price, while supplies last in the case of books, of course. Thanks again to all of you, and here's to many more years of Hero Games!! dw

Re: All-Stars 2011 Dundracon, Dreamation, Origins, Dexcon so far, plus whatever other shows I wind up going to during the year where I need one. dw

Re: All-Stars 2011 Oh, I think a talking toad is far too awesome not to include. The question is if anybody ELSE can hear him... dw

My annual All-Stars convention game this year returns to its pulp roots, with a sequel to the original "Volcano Master!" In 1935, a mysterious planet appeared in the solar system, apparently on a collision course with Earth! Panic spread across the globe, but when the expected collision did not occur and the planet mysteriously "vanished," the whole affair was dismissed as a hoax and several astronomers' careers were ruined. Now months later the planet has reappeared! What's going on? Doc Savage, the Shadow, Tarzan, Mandrake, "Flying" Jenny Dare and Click Rush the Gadget Man assemble to address "The Rogue Planet Crisis!!!" Featuring the usual assortment of fiendish villains, unexpected guest stars, ludicrous action and sneaky continuity. Coming to a convention near you in 2011! dw

Re: Negative Man (Doom Patrol) Larry usually can't actually do anything while Negative Man is out, right? Therefore, I'd say it's a multiform, with the special effect/Complication being that there's a near-comatose body left behind to protect if he wasn't able to pass out under cover or something. dw

Re: Lucha Libre? Mike Cantor made a pretty convincing argument that the only real choice for a Justice Luchadores villain is Starro the Conqueror. Aztec zombies wearing starfish on their faces? Chilling! dw

Re: Dark Champions for FREE!!!! Actually the money goes to Doctors Without Borders, a totally awesome organization. And yeah, we felt bad we missed the cutoff for the Haiti package (just heard about it too late), so we wanted to be sure we got involved with this one. dw

Re: Lucha Libre? El Santo has had a comic in Mexico since the 1950s. dw